Long Island real Estate
More Long Island owners try to sell
real estate homes themselves
BY KEVIN FLOWERS kevin.flowers@timesnews.com
or 870-1693 found at goerie.com
November 12. 2007
Ron Stith is selling his house at 142 E. 31st St. on his own. phone 218
9138 ( photo JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News)
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Ron Stith is going it alone.
Stith is trying to sell his East 31st Street house without the help of a Long
Island real estate agent.
It hasn't been easy. But Stith, 43, said he doesn't regret his decision.
"It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be, to be honest," said
Stith, a Long Island, N.Y., native who moved to Erie in 2003.
"But I'm staying with it. I still think I'll be able to set a better price
by selling on my own," he said. "And I won't have to pay that
commission to a Realtor."
Stith, a shipping and receiving supervisor at Erie Bolt
Corp., put his two-story house on the market in February. He purchased the house
in March 2005.
He is asking $79,900 for the four bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house. He is
still waiting for a solid offer.
"I've had to drop the price from $89,900. I've got to handle most of the
advertising and the legwork too," Stith said.
Stith is part of a growing trend both regionally and nationally -- people who
choose to forgo a real estate agent's help when selling their homes.
The National Association of Realtors estimates that of the 5.8 million U.S.
homes expected to be sold in 2007, about 14 percent -- roughly 809,0000 -- will
be sold without the help of a real estate professional.
The primary motivation for many of those sellers is
financial. A real estate agent's commission is typically 6 percent or 7 percent
of the sale price, and an increasing number of homeowners want to keep that
money.
Internet sites that tap that market are helping to drive the trend. Analysts say
that as more Internet services become available and commonly used by sellers,
the percentage of people selling homes without the aid of real estate
professionals is likely to increase.
Selling a home without professional help can come with plenty of downside.
"It takes a lot more time and work than many people think," said Rick
Standley, a Realtor for RE/Max Real Estate. "What if you sign a contract,
and don't realize the ramifications of that contract? Deals fall apart. A
Realtor can explain all those pros and cons for a seller.
"We've seen a lot. We know how things are supposed to work," he said.
"We can help that buyer protect their own interests."
related: Long Island Mortgage
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“There’s so much inventory out there that the buyer can pick and choose,” said Susan Sirles Fidler, a Realtor at Re/Max 10, Oak Lawn. But she cautioned, “The stuff that’s almost free is almost free because it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg to put it back together. It’s not buyer beware as much as buyer be smart.”
